Bresalier ex rel. Duke Energy Corp. v. Good

246 F. Supp. 3d 1044, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47579
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedMarch 30, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 15-998-LPS
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 246 F. Supp. 3d 1044 (Bresalier ex rel. Duke Energy Corp. v. Good) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bresalier ex rel. Duke Energy Corp. v. Good, 246 F. Supp. 3d 1044, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47579 (D. Del. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

STARK, U.S. District Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Saul Bresalier, a Duke Energy Corporation (“Duke” ’or the “Company”) shareholder, filed this derivative action against defendants Lynn J. Good, Michael G. Browning, Daniel R. Dimicco, John H. Forsgren, Ann Maynard Gray, James H. Hanee, Jr., John T. Herron, James T. Rhodes, James B. Hyler, Jr., Harris De-Loach, Jr., Carlos A. Saladrigas, William E. Kennard, E. Marie McKee, Richard A. Meserve, James E. Rogers, G. Alex Bern[1048]*1048hardt, E. James Reinsch, William Barnet III, and Philip R. Sharp (collectively, the “Director Defendants” 1), as well as Nominal Defendant Duke (together with the Director Defendants, “Defendants”). (D.I. 1 (“Compl.”)) Bresalier alleges breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, breach of the duty of loyalty, and unjust enrichment claims, arising from “wrongdoing which took place during the time [the Director Defendants] held office and/or served as ... directors] of Nominal Defendant Duke.” (Id. ¶¶ 1, 88-109)

On January 15, 2016, Defendants moved to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23.1 and 12(b)(6). (D.I. 25) In response to Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Bresalier filed a motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(d), urging the Court to convert Defendants’ motion to one for summary judgment. (D.I. 28) The parties agreed to suspend briefing on Defendants’ motion to dismiss until the Court ruled on Bresalier’s motion to convert. (D.I. 32) The parties then briefed the motion to convert, which the Court denied from the bench during a hearing held on June 15, 2016. (See D.I. 44 at 31-34; D.I. 46) The Court now turns back to Defendants’ motion .to dismiss, which the parties have fully briefed (See D.I. 47, D.I. 50, D.I. 51) and argued at a hearing held on December 20, 2016 (See D.I. 59 (“Tr.”)).2

II. BACKGROUND

This lawsuit arises from the Duke Board’s refusal of Bresalier’s March 24, 2015 pre-suit demand letter. (See D.I. 24, Ex. A (the “Demand”)) The Demand outlined Bresalier’s concerns regarding three main issues.

First, the Demand alleged that certain Duke officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties by mismanaging Duke’s coal ash basin at its Dan River energy plant in North Carolina, resulting in the third-worst coal ash spill in the nation’s history, in February of 2014. (See Compl. ¶ 25; Demand at 2-5) The Dan River spill and Duke’s mismanagement of coal ash at other locations in North Carolina led to criminal charges against three Duke subsidiaries, all of which pled guilty in May 2015 to a total of nine negligence-based misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, and which further agreed to pay $102 million in fines and implement environmental compliance plans that would be subject to oversight by,a court-appointed monitor paid for by Duke. (See Compl. ¶¶ 25-30; Demand at 2-3) A Joint Statement of Facts filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina after the sentencing hearing “contains numerous and highly material facts to which Duke’s General Counsel admitted on behalf of the Company and its Board, whose members authorized and directed such admissions.” (Compl. ¶ 30) The Dan River spill also led to enforcement actions by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (“DENR”), seeking to hold Duke responsible for cleanup costs at Duke’s 14 coal ash sites in North Carolina; $25 million in fines stemming from these enforcement actions have already been assessed, and the total cleanup costs are estimated to be $10 billion. (Id. ¶¶ 31-38) The Demand also referenced a governmental investigation into “the nature of [Duke’s] contacts with the DENR with respect to Duke’s North Carolina facilities.” (Demand at 3 (internal quotation marks omitted))

[1049]*1049Second, the Demand alleged that the Director Defendants breached their fiduciary duties with regard to Duke’s 2012 merger with Progress Energy, Inc. The Director Defendants were accused of “orchestrating] a scheme to defraud Progress shareholders into believing that [Progress CEO] Bill Johnson ... would be the CEO of the combined, post-Merger company” through the “charade of giving Johnson a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract,” only to then fire Johnson “within hours after the Merger closed, replacing him with [Defendant] Rogers.” (Demand at 6) This “not only subjected Duke to a reported potential liability of more than $40 million in breach of contract damages to Mr. Johnson,” but also led to a costly shareholder lawsuit, Nieman v. Duke Energy Corporation et al., C.A. No. 3:12-cv-00456-MOC-DSC (W.D.N.C. filed Jan. 29, 2013), which Duke eventually settled for $146 million, $26 million of which was not covered by insurance.3 (Demand at 5-6) With respect to these first two issues, Bresalier demanded that the Board “commence litigation against any and all persons and entities who are responsible for the transgressions, violations of law, and damages sustained by the Company as a result of the misconduct summarized in [the Demand] letter.” (Compl. ¶ 68; Demand at 8)

Third, the Demand expressed concerns about Duke’s political action committee, DUKEPAC, and asserted that “any direct or indirect political contributions using Duke’s funds ... that can have no conceivable benefit for the Company would be demonstrably improper ... [and] would only serve to provide personal contact with politicians and further the personal political preferences of Board members.” (Demand at 9) Bresalier demanded greater transparency from the Board and DUKE-PAC as well as an overhaul of the Company’s policies in that regard. (See Compl. ¶ 54)

The Board referred the Demand to a review committee (the “Committee”), which had already been formed to address an earlier shareholder demand letter containing some similar allegations. (See Compl. ¶ 70; D.I. 47 at 5) The Committee consisted of four of the Director Defendants — DeLoach, Forsgren, Gray, and Kennard — and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP (“Gibson Dunn”) served as its legal counsel.4 (Id. ¶¶ 70-71) On May 15, 2015, Bresalier’s counsel wrote to the Committee’s counsel requesting information on “the bona tides of the selection and work of the [Committee],” a copy of any Board resolutions related to the Committee’s creation and Gibson Dunn’s retention, and a copy of the other demand being considered by the Committee. (Compl. ¶¶ 72-73; D.I. 24-1, Ex. B) After getting no response, on May 25, 2015, Bresalier’s counsel sent another letter to the Committee, seeking a response to his May 15 letter. (Compl. ¶ 74; D.I. 24-1, Ex. C) The Committee’s counsel responded to Bresalier’s counsel’s letters on May 31, 2015, stating that the Demand had not been rejected, the investigation was ongoing, and the Committee hoped to complete it within three months. (Compl. ¶ 74; D.I. 34, Ex. A) Bresalier’s [1050]*1050counsel then sent an e-mail on July 3, 2015, reiterating his unanswered questions about the Committee and its- investigation and offering to meet with the Committee, but he received no response. (Compl, ¶¶ 74-75; D.1.24-1, Ex. D)

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246 F. Supp. 3d 1044, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47579, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bresalier-ex-rel-duke-energy-corp-v-good-ded-2017.